I’ve mentioned Texaco Big Friend statues in a previous post at this blog.  Of all the Muffler Men statues that International Fiberglass produced, I find these to be the most intriguing. About 300 of these statues were produced in 1966.  However, nearly all of them are gone now.

I recently came across a TV commercial from 1966 on YouTube.com.  It shows how Texaco planned to use the statues in its advertising campaign. Texaco service station attendants were portrayed as your car’s “Big Friend.” While this commercial was being aired, the giant statues were being deployed around the country. However, for reasons that are still unknown, Texaco changed its mind about the statues.  While the TV commercial was still being aired a year later, the statues had all been removed from the company’s gas stations.  It is believed that those statues and the ones that were still in storage were destroyed.

To my knowledge, there are only four Big Friend statues that escaped Texaco’s purge.  They are located in Oregon, Idaho, Arkansa and Nevada.  Three of those statues have either been heavily modified or damaged, while the one in AR has been fully restored.  Recently, I was contacted by Ryan Lindstrom who lives in Chicago.  He owns a well-preserved Big Friend head which was bought at a antique shop in Georgia in the 1980s.  He is considering displaying the head at Route 66 exhibits in the future.

For more about Texaco Big Friends, see this blog post.  Texaco also produced Big Friend signs.  If you missed it, you might enjoy the recent Ray Carr Show interview which covers a lot of Muffler Men topics as well as the Texaco Big Friends and more pictures then are shown here. 

International Fiberglass did not use a specific name for this statue.  Therefore, I have nicknamed this particular model the “Waving Giant.”  It is described in International Fiberglass’ product listings as 22 feet tall, with a long sleeve shirt, necktie, dress slacks and shoes.  It mentions that the statue is lifelike and is also available with a suit coat.  These statues weigh 325 pounds and were sold for $3,000 in 1964 which equals $22,600 in today’s economy. It is not known if these Waving Giants were produced for a particular company or for a type of business.

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Just when you think you have figured out a pattern for Muffler Men, one will turn up that breaks the rules. International Fiberglass’ Muffler Men were often customized for the customer. Some people believe that the Frankenstein statue at Haunted Trails near Chicago was one of these made-to-order statues.  However, I don’t believe that this statue was produced by International Fiberglass.

The Frankenstein at Haunted Trails Family Amusement Park in Burbank, IL  bears a strong resemblance to Muffler Men.  His general stance and the wrinkles of his pants are a dead match. His hands are also positioned with the  right palm up, left palm down like the classic Muffler Man.  However, that’s where the similarities end. The Frankenstein head , shoulder pads, tie, and bloody axe are unique. The statue also has an iron bar stuck through his neck.

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The Plantation Inn Man may be witnessing some of his last sunsets at the hotel located in Chicopee, MA. I was recently alerted by one of my blog followers that the statue was going up for auction. Thankfully, I had the chance to see him in July 2012.  I got some great shots of him then and got some information about his history. The statue was built by International Fiberglass in Venice, CA as a Pizza Man. The statue was installed in the mid to late 1960s at a pizza shop in Framingham, MA.

In 1970, Mario Cantalini bought the statue from the pizza shop for $2,000 and moved it to his Mutual Ford dealership in Springfield, MA..  The dealership used the slogan of “Buy American” so the statue was transformed into an Uncle Sam character and the statue’s chef’s hat was replaced with a top hat. The statue stood on the lot until 1988 when the dealership closed. The property was leased to a used car dealership and the statue was put in storage. The owner was not interested in keeping the statue since the “Buy American” slogan didn’t fit well with all the foreign cars they were selling. The statue was taken down and put into storage.

Cantalini was involved in many businesses over the years.  He ventured into the hotel industry in the early 1990s at the age of 74.  One of the hotels that he owned was known as the Chicopee Motor Inn when it was built in 1958.  The hotel was designed by the highly acclaimed architect, Morris Lapidus.  It went by several names over the years before Cantalini bought it and renamed it the Plantation Inn.

The hotel’s heyday was in the 1960s when it was known as the Schine Inn.  It was a very popular place with celebrities like Muhammad Ali and Judy Garland.. In 1999, the hotel’s most famous guest arrived.  The Uncle Sam statue was taken out of storage and transformed into a Southern gentleman.  The statue’s suit and top hat were painted white.  It was installed in front of the hotel facing a busy interstate exit.

After 14 years at this location, the giant statue will be moving again. It was sold at an auction on Friday, November 15th.  According to an article in The Republican “Plantation Man” sold at auction on Friday to Charlie Arment Jr. of Charlie Arment Trucking in Springfield. The auction generated allot of interest and over 100 people were present to witness the event. Charlie won the bid at $11,500 outbidding others as far away as KY. He was sketchy when giving future details but plans to keep the giant in the local area. According to the auction’s advertising, the statue was sculpted by Sacha Schnittman.  While Schnittman did sculpt the Texaco Big Friend, I have not heard or read anywhere that he created the Waving Giant statues like this one.  However, it is possible.

I have yet to find a photograph of this statue in its early days as a Pizza Man in Framingham.  International Fiberglass started selling this particular model in the mid-1960s.  A few of them still exist in Chicago, IL and Oakwood Village, OH. There are also a few in Texas with non-standard heads and hands. I recently spoke with former International Fiberglass painter, Terry Nelson.  He showed me photographs of statues being assembled  in Venice, CA.  One of the heads (see photo at left)  wore a chef’s hat and could have been a Pizza Man.  This may have been the same style hat that the Plantation Inn statue wore originally.  I have not been able to find anything about “Too-Fy” or “Stoo-fy” which is printed on this hat.   If anyone knows the correct name of the business and where this statue was located, I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks to the Plantation Inn for providing information about the statue during my 2012 visit.  Also to The Republican newspaper (see article here) for the information and reference to my blog. Debra Jane Seltzer (RoadsideArchitecture.com) for her input and editing help. Additional thanks to Hell’s Acres blog for letting me use their picture of Plantation Inn Man when he stood at Mutual Ford.

The Muffler Man in Evergreen Park, IL is part of what I call the Chicago Cluster.  This Paul Bunyan model is one of two in the Chicago area.  It was first documented by RoadsideAmerica.com in 1997. The statue has been updated a few times over the years. A call to his owners shed only a little light on this Muffler Man’s history. The statue stands on the roof of Guardian Auto Rebuilders.  It is held in place by supports inside his legs.  Some cables are also attached to the eye bolts on top of his shoulders. The current owners bought the business in 1975.  The statue was already on the roof at that time. The owners don’t know how long the statue has been there.  When the company moved in, the statue held a giant hammer. That accessory disappeared a few times during the 1980s. The guys at Guardian got tired of making new hammers for the statue and finally hung the last one up in the shop.  In 1998, a tornado knocked the statue over.  The statue was removed at that point and repainted with DuPont ChromaBase auto paint.  A giant G was also painted on his shirt before he was returned to the roof.

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